Bulgaria – A Growing Adoption Country

In Bulgaria, 90% of the children are abandoned at birth due to poverty. Most of the children available are single children. There are some siblings and twins, but not many. Children as young as one year old may be available for adoption.

Up until October of 2009, the children had to be referred to at least three Bulgarian families AND had to be on the national registry for 12 months. In October the family code changed. Now the children do NOT have to be referred to Bulgarian families first. They only have to spend six months on the registry. Bulgaria is working hard so their children will not have to wait as long to find their forever families! Due to these changes, our agency partner in Bulgaria is anticipating a wave of new referrals to start happening in September of this year.

We anticipate a growing program due to fewer restrictions and the shorter travel times! Families will travel to Bulgaria for three to five days after they are referred a child. There will be a second trip three or four months later for about a week, afterwhich the family can bring home their new child(ren). There is the possibility of an escort being used for the second trip. Bulgaria also allows for both single men and single women to adopt, and they have no restriction on length of marriage.

We look forward to helping many Bulgarian children connect with their forever families!

If you have any questions about adopting from Bulgaria or are ready to start your home study, contact Lydia.